We had a play day rather than a formal lesson at Pony Club this past Sunday. One of the parents organized some games for all us riders - things like pole bending, backing through obstacles and relay races.
It's always fun to do something that is not so focused mentally. Playing games like this forces me to just ride rather than try to do every little thing perfect....which in the end makes me a stronger, more confident rider and helps my fussy little mount get over herself and just do the job. :)
Having said all that, the ride didn't start out all that well for me. I was nervous riding with a big group since I had decided that the whole group thing is what made the trail ride so awful. Plus, Zoe and I were experiencing a new arena together (Black Walnut, up on Cottonwood), which is okay except that this particular arena has mirrors along two of the walls. Zoe freaked when she came up on her reflection - just who the heck was that other horse that appeared out of no where!!! So with my nerves and her hyper energy, we weren't a good pair. I had trouble bringing her back to me and just plain making her stand still.
Cathy M. saw all of this and kindly offered me the use of her horse, Traveler, while she got Zoe under hand. I quickly agreed to the switch. Traveler is notorious for his complete lack of enthusiasm for anything taking place in an arena. Getting him to just. move. forward. at. a. walk. is a challenge.
So imagine my surprise when after going around some poles Traveler decides that the bag on the barrel ISGOINGTOEATHIMOHMYGOD! He quickly backed up a step, flipped a 180 and started to move off in the opposite direction of that horse-eating-bag! I was already starting to lean down to get an envelope out of the bag when all of this started, which really was a good thing because I had a good hold of him with my legs....so I managed to sit his whole freak-out. I'm quite proud of that, actually. :)
After that I never was able to get him to approach the barrel (although we tried several times) and he was very, very skittish when any envelopes were brought towards him.
I jokingly commented to Cathy that if I'd wanted excitement, I could have just stayed on Zoe!
So, lessons learned from my ride on Traveler:
1. Don't assume that just because a horse is normally quiet it'll stay that way!
2. A solid seat is based from the waist down - my hands weren't all that necessary to stay with him as he moved off that barrel.
3. My connection with Zoe is stronger than I thought. I discovered while riding Traveler that I take some of the things I easily do with Zoe totally for granted. Like just turning - I don't even have to think about it with her. I look in the direction I want to go and we just go. It's amazing, really, when I think about it.
